And for letter writer Janice Mitchell
To the Expositor:
Kudos to the “Serpent River First Nation”, that its “North Shore anti-glyphosate rally ends spraying plans in that area”, (The Manitoulin Expositor, August 27, Page 1). According to the EcoJustice.ca website, “Environmental and health groups are celebrating a recent ruling from the Federal Supreme Court, that found Health Canada’s 2022 decision to approve the glyphosate-based herbicide, ‘Mad Dog Plus,’ unreasonable. In their legal challenge, the groups, (including assorted First Nations), argued that the Federal regulatory agency failed to conduct a rigorous up-to-date scientific assessment of glyphosate, before renewing the product, despite evidence of harms to human health and the environment.
Glyphosate is the most heavily used herbicide in Canada and the primary chemical in many products, including Roundup, produced by Monsanto, now owned by Bayer AG, (a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, one of the largest pharmaceutical and biomedical companies in the world.) As of May 2025, Bayer has reached settlement agreements in nearly 100,000 Roundup class action lawsuits, just in the United States. Bayer has so far paid $11 billion USD, with about 61,000 active cases still pending. The science linking long-term glyphosate exposure to cancer has grown too credible to ignore. The health dangers include liver, reproductive and metabolic disorders.
In its decision, the Canadian Supreme Court noted that Health Canada’s 2022 conclusions, that glyphosate-based pesticide products continued to pose acceptable risks, was unsubstantiated by any scientific analysis. The Court set aside the renewal of the product, giving Health Canada six months to make a new decision that transparently addresses the latest science on glyphosate risks. Health Canada has yet to respond to this decision.
The use of glyphosate is widespread in Canada, now the fifth largest user of pesticides in the world, with sales increasing by a staggering 47 percent in just a decade. An alarming 50 million kilograms per year are sprayed on foods, forests and roadsides. Science confirms that pesticides are bad news for people, pollinators, soil and water. For far too long, our federal government has been drinking the AGtech kool-aid, approving and renewing pesticides with harmful consequences. A robust and transparent regulatory system is needed to ensure that Canadians are not exposed to these highly toxic pesticides in the now 7,700 approved products containing pesticides as active ingredients. The government must invest in strengthening oversight of pesticide risks, despite the manufacturer’s big budget lobbying activities.
I honour the excellent letter-to-the-editor, ‘The Connection between Glyphosate and Forest Fires: A Rally Call for Public Outcry”, by Janice Mitchell of Tehkummah (The Manitoulin Expositor, August 27, Page 4).
Happy trails,
Derek Stephen McPhail
Manitowaning, Ontario
